


If Only

by dreamalone



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender, Voltron: Legendary Defender RPF
Genre: Alpha Lance (Voltron), Angst, Claiming, Comfort, Couch Cuddles, Denial, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Half-Galra Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Keith (Voltron) in Denial, Lance (Voltron) in Denial, M/M, Mutual Pining, Omega Keith (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron), Possessive Behavior, Possessive Lance (Voltron), Rating will go up, Scent Marking, Scenting, Sleepy Cuddles, Smut, klance, some smut, they're bad at communication okay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25136458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamalone/pseuds/dreamalone
Summary: Keith gets drunk one night and it leads to a series of events where Lance finds out that Keith isn't the alpha that he thought he was. They're both just pining idiots and there's a lot of fluff involved.
Relationships: Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 265





	1. Drunk Keith?

When Lance got dragged into space to fight some weird ass aliens intent on destroying the universe, he certainly didn’t think there’d be any romance involved. He didn’t think the whole constantly being in danger and being sweaty from training thing was a particular turn on. And yet here he was, standing across from Keith, his supposed rival, and his accidental crush. It wasn’t his fault that Keith’s mullet looked ridiculously soft or that his eyes were somehow a gorgeous shade of violet or that he was unfairly ripped. That was all objective! And if every so often Lance caught himself staring at Keith’s abs in the change room, it was only because they were enemies! He had to check out the competition.

This happened to be the same reasoning he used when he offered to be Keith’s sparring partner today. Sizing up the competition, that was all. 

“Let’s go Mullet, I bet you can’t even get a hit on me, I’ll have you knocked down in no time.” This Lance knew to be false because Keith was definitely a better fighter than him when it came to hand to hand combat, not that Lance would ever admit that. He only liked to taunt Keith just to see his eyebrows scrunch together in that definitely not cute way that he did.

Keith didn’t respond, only scrunched his eyebrows together and slightly growled. And okay Lance was an Alpha but seeing Keith growl like that was hot. Lance knew that technically he shouldn’t be attracted to Keith since he was an Alpha but damn that boy was just unfairly attractive. He had seen omegas and alphas hit on Keith numerous times before, so it wasn’t like he’d be the first Alpha to notice Keith. Keith had never explicitly mentioned that he was an alpha but everything about him screamed alpha. Dominant, aggressive, strong. He wasn’t neutral enough like Hunk and Pidge to be a beta, and he sure as hell wasn’t an omega. 

Lance was too busy thinking about Keith that he didn’t see him take a step forward and swing at Lance, but he threw his elbow up at the last minute to block his punch. Keith threw another punch and then another, coming at Lance relentlessly, and with Keith’s speed and the fact that Lance had been unprepared from the beginning, it was no surprise that when Keith swept Lance’s legs out from under him, Lance landed flat on his back with Keith straddling his hips and holding him down.

“What was that you were saying about knocking me down?” Keith smirked.

And fuck if Lance didn’t think that smirk was hot as hell. And why did Keith have to sit on him? Wouldn’t it have been enough to just knock him down and call it a win? Now all Lance could think about was Keith’s thighs straddling him and shit Lance needed to get himself under control because he knew he was letting off an aroused scent and now Keith was looking at him weird and leaning down and-. Wait. Leaning down? Suddenly Lance felt Keith hesitantly nudging his nose at Lance’s neck, and Keith’s scent was enveloping Lance and he couldn’t think straight when Keith was next to him like this smelling so good. “Keith,” Lance breathed out, and then Keith was pulling away just as suddenly and scrambling to his feet, practically running out of the training room muttering something about needing to talk to Allura.

Lance felt like he had gotten whiplash. He sat up, confused. Keith had wanted to… smell him? But that made no sense, Keith was an Alpha, he shouldn’t be attracted to Lance’s scent. Maybe he wasn’t trying to smell Lance? Maybe he wanted to smell Lance in like a platonic kind of bro way? Thinking about it too hard was making Lance’s head hurt. He needed some air, and he wasn’t going to get it in the sweat smelling training room. He headed for the kitchen instead, deciding that he was in need of a friend right now, and that friend was definitely Hunk. Unsurprisingly, Hunk was in the kitchen, working on some cinnamon rolls.

“Hunk,” Lance called, drawing out his name, “I might have to marry you if you let me have one of those.”

“Lance! You’re just in time. This recipe is awesome I found these old cookbooks which like I thought all the recipes were going to disgusting and weird and spacey, but then I saw a picture of what looked like cinnamon rolls and well,” he gestured to the oven, “they’re turning out really well!”

“Hunk my man, those smell more than just really well, they smell like heaven.”

“Aww thanks Lance. Oh! They’re done!” Hunk pulled them out and let them cool for a bit before handing one to Lance. “So… what did you want to talk about?”

“What do you mean?” Lance asked around a mouthful of cinnamon roll. “Hunk. These are like pillows you have to give the rest of the batch.”

Hunk beamed. “Fine one more. But the rest are for the team, and Pidge will want at least two. Anyway, I just mean that you usually only come to the kitchen when something’s bothering you. Not that I don’t love your company! I’m just, you know, worried for you.”

“No, it’s nothing really! Well… I don’t know. So like, I’m training with Keith today right? Totally normal! And then he knocks me down, after I put up a really good fight of course, and then uh… and then hesniffedmyneck.”

“He what?”

“He… sniffed my neck? That’s not weird right? I’m probably imagining things this is stupid it’s not even a big deal Keith is an Alpha and I totally don’t like him so I’m gonna leave now thanks forget I said anything.”

“Wait! Don’t leave. You said he sniffed you? That’s not very Keith like, I try to hug this guy on the daily and he goes all growl growl Alpha on me every time. Maybe he just thought you smelled weird? Not that you smell weird! Just like, you were probably sweaty? I don’t know.”

“Yeah probably the sweat, right?” Lance felt the blush rising to his face as he remembered his arousal. Shit. Keith probably thought he was some creep. Shit shit shit. He had to apologize to him as soon as possible. “Anyway thanks for the help man, I appreciate it.”

“Anytime buddy.”

Lance didn’t see Keith for the rest of the day, and his mind was going crazy. What if he just completely ruined his relationship with Keith? Keith probably already hated him and thought he was immature and ridiculous and now he had to go and make Keith feel weird about something that was actually enjoyable. Quite enjoyable. In fact, Lance had imagined multiple times what it would be like for Keith to nuzzle up again Lance and for Keith to like the way he smelled. Just, you know, totally normal teammate things. Okay. He probably had a crush on Keith. Scratch that. He probably had an embarrassingly large crush on Keith. He thought back to their time at the Garrison when he had made a rival out of Keith, probably just because he was too stupid to deal with his feelings and wanted Keith’s attention. So what. Keith was hot, and aloof, and adorable, and weirdly nice to talk to when they weren’t fighting. And unsurprisingly, that amounted in a huge ass crush on Lance’s end. Lance buried his face in his hands. What was he supposed to do about this information? Keith was totally out of his league. He was cool in that sort of mysterious badass way and he was literally way too good looking. He could get anyone if he wanted to, and Lance knew he was a good looking guy but Keith was _gorgeous_. What was he going to do?

It wasn’t until late at night when he finally saw Keith. He heard shouts coming from the recreation room so he followed the noise and opened the door slightly, only for his jaw to drop in surprise. Inside the room were Pidge and Keith, and they were playing... a video game? It was like one in the morning what the hell? Were they playing Mario Kart? Holy Hell they were playing Mario Kart! Where did Pidge even find the game and how did they get it to work? Lance hadn’t ever seen Keith play any sort of games before, but it looked like he was almost beating Pidge. Lance let himself into the room hesitantly. “Guys what are you doing up?”

“Lance!” Pidge shouted without looking up from the screen, “Keith it’s Lance!”

“Shh Pidge I’m trying to concentrate,” Keith scowled at the screen. 

Lance glanced up and saw that Keith was playing Bowser. He rolled his eyes. Classic Keith. Even if he was playing Mario Kart, he was still predictable. Lance sat on the couch, figuring he wasn’t getting either of their attentions until the game was over. Keith was currently in the lead by a tiny bit, and they were on the final lap. Keith’s tongue was poking out of the side of his mouth slightly, and hell if Lance didn’t think that was unfairly adorable. At the very last minute, Pidge released a red turtle shell that stunned Keith’s Bowser, and Lance watched as the shell zoomed towards Keith’s cart, ensuring certain doom. Pidge won by a centimetre. Or whatever you use to measure in a game like this.

“NO! I was so close what the hell Pidge!” And to Lance’s surprise, Keith started laughing. Laughing! What was Lance supposed to do with a laughing Keith, that was way too cute. Keith reached to his left to shove Pidge, but instead missed and started laughing again. “Pidge, I’ll Bowser you if you don’t come over here. I’m a dragon. A dragon!” And then he proceeded to mock blow flames from his mouth. Pidge burst out laughing. First of all. What the fuck. Lance paused for a minute and squinted at the two, sniffing the air. 

“Are you two… drunk?”

Keith laughed again. “Mmm not drunk. Tired.”

Pidge reached out and patted Keith on the shoulder twice. “Me too. Gonna sleep. See ya tomorrow Keith.”

Keith moved his hand in what looked like a wave. Lance couldn’t believe it. How were they drunk and when did they even find the alcohol or the time to get drunk? He would try asking Keith, but right now he didn’t think Keith was a very trustable source. Lance simultaneously wanted to sprint from the room and spend the whole night on the couch sitting next to Keith. On the one hand, drunk Keith seemed more relaxed, and Lance wanted to see what conversations were like with drunk Keith. On the other hand, drunk Keith seemed more relaxed, and Lance didn’t know if his poor bi heart could handle Keith doing anything remotely cute. Not after today’s training session. Keith let out another giggle from next to him, jarring Lance from his thoughts. A giggle. Nope. Too cute. 

“Laanncee, I’m tired,” Keith slurred, “Imma sleep on the couch, m’kay?”

“Keith, you’ll probably end up with a massively sore neck, I’m not sure that’s the best idea.”

Keith frowned. “I don’t want to move though.”

“How about I help you back to your room then?” Lance regretted it as soon as he said it. Helping Keith back to his room involved physical contact, and like, Lance was not prepared for physical contact with Keith. But what was he supposed to do! Leave Keith here? No way. Lance had woken up hungover on his couch before, and that was not fun at all. 

To Lance’s surprise, Keith nodded. Well, Lance thought, he already committed, all he could do was follow through now. He stood up and went to Keith cause who knew what would happen if Keith went to him, he didn’t know if Keith was exactly in a good walking state right now. Lance slipped his head under one of Keith’s shoulders and slung his arm under his other, then did his best to help Keith stand up. And wow, Keith might be slightly shorter than Lance but he was not light. Must be all that dumb muscle, Lance thought. Definitely dumb muscle, Lance confirmed, since having his arm around Keith’s back wasn’t really leaving much room for imagination. It wasn’t like Lance was a scrawny guy. He couldn’t be, with all the training that Allura and Shiro put them through. But Keith’s biceps were like, _nice_ nice, and then there were those abs… Lance shook his head. He was supposed to be helping Keith back to his room, not drooling all over him. Besides, Lance had been realizing more and more lately that Keith’s personality was actually not horrible at all. Sure he had that whole I’ll kill you if you think about even touching me kind of vibe, but that was actually kind of hot. Plus his competitiveness and drive were actually really admirable, and if you ignored all his really rough edges, he was a really good teammate and the people he did care about, he protected and cared for with everything he had. Okay so Lance had been thinking about his crush on Keith, and he was majorly fucked. And now he had aforementioned crush draped around his shoulders. No big deal. This was just a dude bro kind of thing. One bro helping his body after a drunk night out kind of thing, no feelings involved. 

About five minutes later of half dragging Keith to the bedroom wing of the castle, Lance wondered why the hell the castle was so big. Luckily Keith was too tired to talk much during their walk, because talking to drunk Keith was not a good idea. Lance checked on Keith again, and Keith now looked considerably more pale than when they had started. He nudged Keith lightly. “Hey man, you don’t look so hot, you sure you wanna go back to your room right now?”

Keith groaned slightly. “Might’ve drank too much. Don’t worry, not gonna throw up, just don’t feel too well.”

Lance sighed. He wasn’t going to leave Keith in his room alone when he just said he wasn’t feeling well. Would Keith be mad at him tomorrow for taking care of him? Probably. Scratch that, he’d definitely be mad, and they’d probably fight over how Keith didn’t need Lance “babysitting” him. But screw it, Lance was a good person and he’d deal with the consequences tomorrow. That’s how he ended up with Keith sitting on his bed looking like he was two seconds from falling over. 

“Listen Keith,” Lance said, “I’m going to go grab you some water. Try not to fall asleep okay? Don’t want you choking on your barf or some gross shit.”

“Fuck you Lance.”

“Hey, you’re the one in my room right now.”

Keith flipped him the middle finger and Lance just rolled his eyes and left the room to go to the kitchen. This was a weird day. First the whole training and thing and now he was getting Keith water while Keith was drunk like they were school friends or something. Not that Lance cared. It was actually kind of a nice break from their constant arguing. But still, it was off putting. When Lance got back Keith was still in the same spot, staring at the ground and looking like he was trying not to hurl. Some colour had returned to his cheeks though, which Lance took as a good sign. He handed Keith the glass of water and sat next to him, tracing the water’s path down Keith’s throat and thinking about wanting to follow that path down with his lips. Totally not appropriate right now.

“Is that your family?”

Keith’s voice shocked Lance out of his trance, and he hoped Keith didn’t notice that blush on his cheeks. He followed Keith’s gaze to the picture on his dresser. “Yeah, that was taken a year ago at our home back in Cuba.”

It was silent for a while, and Lance thought that Keith wasn’t going to respond. “Do you miss them?”

Lance glanced over at Keith, but he was still looking at the picture. “All the time. It used to be so loud in my house, you know? I had seven siblings, there was always someone who had lost a hair tie, or someone who needed help setting the table, or someone who wanted to pass around a soccer ball outside. It definitely got annoying, but it was somehow comforting? And space is just so… silent. Sometimes you really feel like there’s just nothing out there, and you’re just alone.” Lance wonders if he said too much, but Keith doesn’t tease Lance or make any biting remarks. 

“When… when I got kicked out of the Garrison, I thought I’d never see Shiro again. I thought I screwed up the one, um, relationship, that I had. It sucked. Out in the desert… that was lonely. Really lonely.”

Lance just nodded, not wanting to ruin any sort of moment they were having. He didn’t even know if Keith would remember this tomorrow, but he hoped he did. It was quiet for a long time, but a good quiet. Lance was lost thinking back on his memories of home, and he was wondering if Keith was doing the same thing, and whether or not most of those memories were sad for Keith. It was a depressing thought. “Hey,” Lance said, breaking the silence, “you feeling better?”

Keith nodded. “Just a little bit dizzy now, but pretty okay.”

It looked like more sober Keith was back. Lance briefly mourned the loss of drunk, more vulnerable Keith. “Well, I can help you back to your room if you want. Not that you, you know, need help.”

Keith looked down at the floor uncomfortably. “Um… well… I’m kind of really tired right now, and my limbs feel like they’re done for today, and my room’s at the end of the hall.” He bit his lip nervously.

“Oh,” Lance paused, “You can stay here if you want, it’s no big deal.”

Keith nodded curtly. “Thanks.”

“Do you want a change of clothes? That can’t be comfortable to sleep in.”

Keith glanced down at his jacket and jeans and nodded again. Lance grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a comfy t-shirt from his drawer and tossed them at Keith. “You can use the bathroom.” Keith didn’t respond, just went to go change while Lance also changed into more comfortable clothing. Lance heard the bathroom door opening and turned to look at Keith and almost stopped breathing. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no Lance was not prepared for Keith in his clothing that was way too much too fast oh god. The way his sweatpants were just slightly too long for him was just not okay. He felt a little possessive streak flare up at the thought of Keith wearing his clothing, but he pushed that down. Keith was nowhere close to his mate and he definitely wasn't his omega. He wasn't even an omega. Still, he was so used to seeing Keith in training gear that seeing him in comfortable clothing made Lance's heart go soft. He stared for what felt like two hours and then cleared his throat.

“Um, do you want to sleep next to the wall or…?

“Whatever you want, it’s your room.”

“Uh, okay.” Lance stood there for another two seconds before climbing into his bed and feeling Keith’s weight next to him.

Lance lay there on his back and tried his best not to panic because Keith, as in major crush on Keith, was in his bed wearing his clothes. He turned on his side to look and see if Keith was trying to fall asleep like a normal person and holy shit that was a mistake. Keith’s hair was falling into his eyes and he looked so peaceful and so beautiful. He couldn’t recall ever seeing Keith this relaxed maybe ever. He unconsciously moved closer, wanting to brush that soft hair out of his eyes. He tentatively reached a hand out, brushing the hair ever so slightly. Keith’s hair was like silk, and it took all of Lance’s self control not to run his hands through Keith’s hair. So he just lay there for another minute next to Keith, trying not to stare at him too much. Keith didn’t seem to be having any problems falling asleep, and the next thing he knew, Keith’s breathes had evened out and he appeared to be sleeping. Lance closed his eyes as well, slowly drifting off. Just when he had relaxed, he felt movement on the bed next to him and the suddenly Keith was pressed up against him, snuggling close and tucking his head underneath Lance’s chin. Lance froze, but Keith continued shifting until he got comfortable, sliding one leg between Lance’s and moving one of his arms around Lance’s waist.

Lance’s heart melted. Keith was so warm and he smelt like heaven. Lance tilted his head down slightly so that he could press his face into Keith’s soft hair and inhale his scent. God, Keith might be the best thing he’d ever smelled. Keith raised his head and nuzzled his nose into Lance’s neck, repeating the same sort of gesture as earlier today at the training room and the last of Lance’s resolve broke. He wrapped his arm around Keith’s waist and pulled him closer.

“You smell nice,” Keith mumbled.

Lance’s brain short circuited. He thought Keith was asleep? And how could he just say things like that? Lance internally sighed and just ran his hand lightly through Keith’s hair, and before drifting off to sleep, he swore he heard Keith purr lightly in contentment.


	2. Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith wakes up and finds himself in an unexpected situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some implied child abuse in here, so if that's a trigger for you then you can stop reading at "Lance was getting" and continue at "when they got called".

Keith opened his eyes slowly, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. For a minute he was completely disoriented, until pieces of the day before started running through his head. Keith had made a mistake. Thing was, Keith made mistakes all the time. It came with being reckless and impulsive, and usually he was okay to deal with the consequences, but he definitely was not okay with these particular consequences.

It had started when Lance asked him to be his sparring partner. Any excuse to touch Lance was a good one for Keith. He still hadn’t really wrapped his mind around the whole touching thing yet, and he did his best not to flinch every time someone other than Shiro patted him on the back touched his shoulder. He tried his best not to act like a stray kitten, but it was difficult not to. He just wasn’t accustomed to being touched. It was hard enough just to be friendly to the diplomats from other planets, and he had basically been forced to be family with the other paladins, so he didn’t reeky have much choice other than to get close to them. But he hadn’t exactly moved on to the physical parts of relationships yet. Not that Keith was… inexperienced. His impulsiveness included a few hookups here and there, but they were all practically strangers and had no emotional consequences. He was a teenager, after all, and he was curious. But nothing was ever fully satisfying, and Keith had a feeling that a part of that may be due to his suppressants. When he had started at the Garrison, he put himself on suppressants. Although majority of people wouldn’t care if he was an omega, there were those who were prejudiced, some of them being the teachers, and it wasn’t something that Keith wanted to deal with. On top of that, his heat would be torture in the Garrison, and it would leave him unable to do anything for a week. Not to mention all the alphas that he would have to fight off. 

The problem in space was that he was running out of suppressants. Usually when they stopped by a planet, Keith picked up enough to last him for a couple months, but on their last trip, they didn’t have any. This was incredibly problematic. Shiro already knew he was an omega since he was the first person he told, and so did Pidge. Not because Keith told them but because they noticed one day when Shiro and Lance got into a very brief argument that Keith had whined very softly and slightly bared his neck in submission. Which was stupidly embarrassing, and Keith was pissed at himself for that. Usually keeping his submissive side in check was easy. Most alphas didn’t intimidate Keith in the slightest, and he thought the whole submissive omega thing was stupid. Keith could and had beaten various alphas in a fight, and the idea of submitting to one was ridiculous. But when Shiro and Lance had the argument, Keith had been near heat, and he couldn’t help himself. Pidge had approached him the next day about it, but they just wanted to know if they were right or not, and didn’t care either way.

Liking Lance was what Keith considered one of his vices. In theory, he should hate Lance. To most of the paladins, Keith and Lance were rivals. Lance was annoying, too talkative, not serious enough, too flirtatious, and made too many jokes. It just so happened that while Keith thought these traits were ridiculously annoying, he slowly realized that he also found them annoyingly endearing. And this was the problem. Because Lance would never like Keith. First of all, Keith thought that compared to Lance, he was the equivalent of the grim reaper or some shit. Lance would think that he was too aggressive, and serious, and closed off, and quiet. And Keith had seen the kinds of girls that Lance flirted with. They were always talkative, and they dressed in light and pretty dresses, and they giggled at all of Lance’s jokes. Keith was definitely not Lance’s type.

That didn’t mean that Keith was going to turn down a sparring session with Lance. First of all, Lance in training gear should be a sin. No one warned Keith that training gear showed off Lance’s long, lean muscles or that the blue of the metal brought out Lance’s crystal blue eyes. Where the training made Lance look beautiful and graceful, the gear just made Keith look _aggressive_. Not that Keith minded that, it just wasn’t the same as Lance’s grace.

“Let’s go Mullet, I bet you can’t even get a hit on me, I’ll have you knocked down in no time.”

Lance’s taunting voice made Keith want to smile, but he covered it up with a growl. Stars above, this was why everyone thought he was an alpha. Keith couldn’t imagine Lance’s reaction if he found out that Keith was an omega. It’s not like his opinion of him would change, but he would definitely be surprised. Would he be more attracted to Keith? This was a dark hole of thinking that Keith didn’t want to fall into. 

Lance wasn’t a bad fighter. He was just more talented at long range shooting, and he had the unfair advantage of fighting against Keith, who’s style was lethal. He took all his rage and ability to improvise from his fights before Voltron and combined it with the technical training from the ship’s system. Even if he wasn’t as big as the Galra, he could still beat majority of them in a fight. So when he landed on top of Lance with his legs straddling Lance’s hips, he wasn’t too surprised. What he was surprised about was the scent that was coming from Lance. Keith knew that Lance smelled like heaven in a person. Whenever he left his clothes lying around, the smell always made Keith relax a little bit more and internally sigh. It was… problematic, to say the least. And the temptation only got worse when he was sparring with Lance. The close proximity was overwhelming, and it took all of Keith’s will to actually stay on the offensive with Lance rather than just letting him pin him down and have his way with him. It was infuriating. Never in his life had Keith ever wanted to give up a fight, or anything, really. Not that he wanted to lose to Lance. He just had other priorities in his brain that included a lot less fighting. If Lance knew what went on in Keith’s brain, he’d be disgusted. Lance could barely tolerate Keith, and it didn’t do him any good to think about Lance taking him apart with his fingers or leaving hickeys down his neck so that everyone knew who he belonged to. 

What really surprised Keith when he was straddling Lance’s hips was that all of the sudden Lance began to smell… interested. And if Keith thought that Lance smelled good before, then he had it coming. Keith couldn’t resist moving closer to Lance’s scent glands. All he wanted was just to lay in Lance’s arms for hours and scent him until his body felt like putty. He knew that Lance’s scent was maybe the only thing that had ever relaxed him, and he didn’t know what to do with that knowledge other than be terrified that he had a weakness like that.

“Keith,” Lance breathed out.

Keith was fucked. He couldn’t stop thinking about Lance saying his name like that while Keith had his dick down his throat. He’d pull his hair back and fuck his throat until Keith’s voice was hoarse and his jaw hurt. And then he’d groan and pull out just to flip Keith onto his stomach and drive into him until they were both cumming hard. Shit. Shit shit shit. Keith had to get out of here now. With sitting on Lance, there was no way he wouldn’t notice if Keith got a hard on. He scrambled up, muttering nonsense about how Allura wanted to talk to him about the Blade of Marmora. 

After that, he did the one thing he knew how to do when he couldn’t control his problems. Get drunk. This was a… bad habit that Keith had, and one that often resulted in many of his hookups. Usually, he went to the training deck and ran his body ragged until he forgot everything except for the ache in his muscles, but now that the training deck was the location of his problems, it didn’t leave him many options. Which is how he ended up in the rec room with Pidge, playing Mario Kart and laughing their asses off. 

Keith knew that Pidge had picked up some alien substance from another planet as a request from Keith. He rarely bought anything when they went on missions other than suppressants, and with Pidge buying various things all the time, another unknown substance didn’t raise much suspicion. Pidge’s only condition was that Keith share with them. Pidge was more on the tipsy side, just enough to loosen them up and relax them, but Keith was full on wasted. He somehow got roped into a game of Mario Kart with Pidge, which was coincidentally the only game that Keith knew how to play from his childhood. One of his foster brother’s owned a DS, and at night Keith would sneak it into his room and play Mario Kart for hours. 

What Keith didn’t count on was Lance coming into the room. He had done all this work to get away from Lance, and yet here he was, in the pyjamas that had been given to the paladins and looking ten times cuter than he had the right to. Keith’s drunk brain was very tempted to give Lance a big hug just so that he could feel Lance’s arms around him in that soft fabric. This was not good. He did not trust himself around Lance in this state.

Fifteen minutes later and Keith found that he was right not to trust himself in this state. Somehow he had ended up pressed against Lance’s chest, wearing Lance’s clothes that smelled like him in his bed that also smelled like him. Keith was beyond pleased, much more than he was supposed to be. He had to hold himself back from purring, which was embarrassing. Never had he wanted to purr before, but being surrounded everywhere by Lance was so overwhelming, and it had the omega in him wanting to express his contentedness as best as he could. And so he fell asleep like that, dreams of Lance being his alpha washed away with the alcohol in his system.

…

Keith stretched out his neck as the very real panic started setting in. He was in _Lance’s_ room, and he had _fallen asleep_ spooning him and this was so very very bad. Lance would never forgive him. He probably thought Keith was some baby who couldn’t handle himself and needed to be taken care of. He couldn’t believe that he let someone take care of him like that. Where did his independence go? Even when he had gotten drunk before, he had never let anyone look after him, not even when he threw up for the first time when he was a freshman in high school. And worse, he had asked Lance if he could stay in his room! Lance probably just pitied him.

He slowly started to try to roll out from under Lance’s arm, which was still wrapped around his waist. But then Lance was making a small groaning sound and his eyes fluttered open. Shit. He watched as Lance let out a yawn and stretched his arms. Keith tried not to stare too hard or think about a life where he could wake up next to Lance every day, and watch his cute morning yawns and have his arms wrapped around him. This was not the time, and Lance didn’t want him like that. He never would.

“Uh, so I’m gonna leave now,” Keith said quickly, “Thanks for, um, for letting me stay.” And then he was out of the bed before he could make eye contact with Lance. He didn’t want to see Lance’s expression right now. If it was anything close to regret, or worse, disgust, he didn’t think he could take it.

“Wait!”  
Keith turned around at the door. Lance looked… well he just looked like he wanted Keith to wait a minute. There wasn’t any trace of bitter emotions on his features.

“Are you feeling better?” 

“Yeah, uh, thanks, again.”

“No problem.” 

It wasn’t the response that Keith expected. He thought Lance would tease him about handling his alcohol or something embarrassing that he said last night while he was shitfaced, but he was surprisingly… understanding. This whole ordeal was too much for Keith to handle. He felt like he was going to explode. It was a lot all at once, and Keith wasn’t used to a lot of feeling. He was hungover, and hung up on Lance, and confused about his feelings, and Lance’s attitude, and what last night meant. And the last thing he needed was for Lance to treat him nice and friendly when Keith had crossed some boundaries last night that weren’t supposed to be crossed.

“Listen Lance, I don’t need this… this pity. You don’t have to treat me like a fragile omega or something.”

“Pity?! Why can’t I just be nice and help a friend out?”

Keith raised his voice slightly, “Because we don’t do that! In case you forgot, you spend ninety percent of our conversations insulting my mullet!”

Lance sputtered. “Well, that’s because it’s a mullet! Like, what kind of hairstyle choice is that? Of all the hairstyles you could’ve had and you have this!” He gestured to Keith’s hair.

“You know what? This is so classic. Here I thought you were being serious for once, but I guess not.”

“I was being serious! You’re the one who brought up this stupid pity thing! What the hell Keith?”

“It’s not stupid! I don’t need you to take care of me, okay? I don’t want you to be nice and- and touchy or whatever just because you feel bad or something.”

Lance looked like Keith had slapped him. “I’m not being nice to you because I feel bad! How can you be so oblivious Keith?”

“Fuck you!”

Lance was getting mad now. He jumped out of the bed because there was no way he could seriously argue when he was half sitting in bed. He began an aggressive step towards Keith so that he could yell at him up close and personal, and then Keith was throwing his hands up and turning his body away, cowering.

There was a beat of silence.

“Keith?” Lance asked softly, too soft. “Keith… I wasn’t going to hi-“

And then Keith was pushing past Lance’s door, running towards his room and locking it behind him. He took ten deep breaths, counting them in his head. Fuck. Fuck, he hadn’t meant to- Lance couldn’t see him like- he hadn’t felt like that since…since… no. No, he had worked to forget those days, had worked to forget the fear, and the feeling of helplessness. He knew that he could win a fight now, he was so far from helpless, and yet… this was so different from fighting the Galra. This was why he couldn’t get personal with anyone. It was too unreliable, and he couldn’t give up the work that he had done to push all the bad away. He thought he had replaced all his old instincts with new ones, but Lance had gotten closer than anyone had since Shiro. And even Shiro didn’t know the full extent of his past. He shouldn’t have drunk that weird space substance. He shouldn’t have let down his guard and been selfish and slept next to Lance. He shouldn’t have let himself be vulnerable. There was a reason why he stayed up late and woke up early. Aside from his complete inability to sleep properly and give his body the rest it needed, he didn’t like being the first one asleep, and he didn’t like being the last one up. It gave everyone the chance to see him when he was at his most vulnerable, and that was not a possibility that Keith entertained.

… 

When they got called into a meeting by Allura, Keith did his best to avoid eye contact with Lance. He could feel Lance’s eyes on him, but he wasn’t ready for the expression there. If it was anything like the pity he expected, then he couldn’t handle it. The last thing he needed was to be treated like a wounded stray, when he was anything but.

“Okay, listen up Voltron,” Allura started, “We’re about to be landing on planet Kaltor, and I need everyone on their best behaviour. The Kaltorians have a formidable army base, and they craft some of the finest weapons in the galaxy. Securing an alliance with them is our first priority. As their guests, they are kindly throwing a ball in our honour. You will find a selection of appropriate outfits that you can choose in your closets. Please try your best to look good and make friends with the locals.”

They all unconsciously glanced at Lance, expecting him to make some comment about having no problem charming the locals, but he was uncharacteristically quiet, staring down at his feet.

“Alright, does anyone have questions?”

When she was met with silence, everyone was dismissed. Keith began his way down the hall, trying to move quickly so as to avoid Lance, even though they were in the same wing of the castle.

“Keith, wait!” Lance’s voice rang down the hall.

Keith crossed his arms. “What do you want Lance.”

“We should talk about… you know. Yesterday. And this morning. You know I’m here to listen if there’s anything-”

“There’s nothing.”

“But-”

“Get ready for the ball Lance.” 

And then Keith closed the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are heating up! I'm really excited to write the next chapter, because I'm such a sucker for ball scenes.


	3. Your Hand Forever's All I Want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith attend a ball on an unfamiliar planet. Lance is unprepared for Keith in formal wear.
> 
> "But Keith… Keith was nowhere to be seen. It was strange. Lance figured that Keith would be one of the first to be ready, since he so rarely cared about his appearance. But when he walked through the door, Lance felt like he had been transported right into one of his favourite teen movies. Keith looked _devastating_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm such a sucker for writing ball scenes. Formal wear? Yes. Dancing? Yes yes yes. Anyway, this chapter is so fluffy. Prepare for fluff. All the fluff.

Usually, Lance loved their diplomatic missions. They had everything that Lance liked. A chance to meet new people, new things to explore, a chance to use his charm, and plenty of people for him to flirt with. But he couldn’t find himself excited about the team’s trip to Kaltor. And they were hosting a ball for them! Free food! And dancing! Lance loved dancing! And yet, he was still sitting in his room, sulking. He couldn’t get Keith out of his mind. Keith was a tough guy. It’s what he was known for. He was lethal, and intimidating, and ridiculously good at hand to hand combat. And yet, yesterday morning, he had looked like a child, cowering in Lance’s room. If there was one thing that Lance understood, it was that those sorts of reactions were unconscious, instinctual, and often engrained in someone. Keith probably wasn’t even thinking about what he was doing when he put himself in defence mode like that. Thing was, Keith’s stance wasn’t a fighting stance, it was the stance of someone who was prepared to get hurt, and not fight back. Lance didn’t know what to do with that information. His first thought was that Keith needed someone to talk to. But Keith was _Keith_. He didn’t really do that whole feelings thing. Hell, sometimes he didn’t even do the talking thing. Maybe it was just the alpha in him that was urging him to protect Keith, which was ridiculous. Keith didn’t need protecting, in fact he had just beat Lance’s ass in training two days ago. And on top of that, it wasn’t Lance’s job to protect Keith. He wasn’t his omega, he wasn’t even his mate. Actually, Keith wasn’t even an omega in the first place! Whatever, it didn’t matter. Keith was a friend before everything else, not an omega, not his crush, not his comrade in battle. And when a friend was hurt, they needed a shoulder to lean on. The problem was that Lance wasn’t sure if Keith understood the concept of leaning on someone.

He put his thoughts aside for a minute to look at himself in the mirror. Everyone knew blue was Lance’s colour, and there were times like this when it really showed. When he saw the suit in his closet, he was sold. The entire suit was an icy blue from head to toe, save for his white dress shirt and shoes, and it was completed with a matching thin blue tie. He had combed and gelled his hair back, and had even put the slightest amount of glitter at the corners of his eyes. Sometimes, in the middle of war, he forgot what it was like just to get himself dressed up for an occasion. Back at home, there was always a birthday party, or a graduation, or a wedding that Lance was attending. These were his favourite times. All the people he loved in one place, happy and carefree. And even though he was without his family now, he had a different sort of family, one born through hardships and hurt, so far from the care and nurture of his home in Cuba, but still with the same deep connection.

He straightened his tie, and imagined a different path for himself, one where he was picking up his boyfriend or girlfriend from their house for Prom. One where his mom made them take embarrassing photos and his siblings teased him for being all dressed up. One where Keith wasn’t haunted by his past, and Lance was never separated from his family. And if he entertained the thought of Keith being his date, then it was only for a fleeting moment, and he made sure to store that thought for later.

When he walked out into their meeting room, he found that everyone was already dressed and ready. Allura looked every part the princess that she was, in a long shimmering gown that seemed to be embedded with glitter. The dress itself shone: pink, and blue, and white. Her hair was swept up into an elaborate braided crown, which only served to make her look more like royalty. Hunk wore a rich yellow dress shirt with a simple bow tie, and Pidge looked dashing in a fitted green jacket, suspenders, and dress boots. Shiro had gone classic, with a perfectly tailored black tuxedo that showed off all the hours that he had spent in the gym. But Keith… Keith was nowhere to be seen. It was strange. Lance figured that Keith would be one of the first to be ready, since he so rarely cared about his appearance. But when he walked through the door, Lance felt like he had been transported right into one of his favourite teen movies. Keith looked _devastating_.

He had on a sheer black organza blouse whose sleeves were dramatically wide around his arms, cuffed at his wrists and then flared past them. He wasn’t wearing anything underneath, which Lance would complain was inappropriate if he wasn’t completely distracted by Keith’s flawless abs. He had tight black pants tucked into black dress boots. But maybe the worst part was the simple black choker around his neck, or his silver tear drop earrings, or his nicely combed back hair, or the fact that he was wearing _eyeliner_. Lance couldn’t help his jaw drop, or the blush that was surely covering his cheeks. He opened and closed his moth twice, unable to get anything out that did Keith justice. Thankfully, Allura spoke before he could embarrass himself. 

“Okay, now that everyone is here, we can head on out to greet the Queen. Once our introductions are over, the ball will commence,” she gave a fond smile before adding, “You all look lovely. I know we’re here on business, but do try to enjoy yourselves. You deserve a little break.”

And with that, they were leaving the ship. It was pretty dark outside when they exited, and they greeted some of the Queen’s ambassadors, who led them towards the castle. He couldn’t tell much about the appearance of the planet, but the Kaltor were an interesting looking species. They were all at least six feet tall, with skin of all sorts of colour, and this long white flowing hair. The men too had long hair, although it seemed that they kept it in low, elegant ponytails. Their facial features were surprisingly similar to those of humans, save for the fact that their eyes were slightly larger, and that they all had small horns poking out of the top of their heads. 

The ground below their feet glowed a soft purple, illuminating their path. If Lance looked close enough, he thought he could see outlines of small sparkling creatures dancing around the ground. They didn’t need much light to see the shining castle in front of him. The castle looked as though it were built out of crystal. It’s towers were long, pointed daggers, and Lance wasn’t sure if they were using lighting to illuminate the castle, or if the castle material itself was filled with a brilliant white light, soft and luminescent. This certainly seemed like one of the more luxurious planets that they had been to. His opinion didn’t change when they reached the doors, which looked as though they were made of glass, and took five guards just to open them. When they entered the throne room, Lance suddenly understood why the entire castle was made out of the crystal like substance. The guards standing by the Queen were all armed with gun like weapons that were crafted out of the crystal that he had seen everywhere. Whatever this substance was, it sure was important to the Kaltor.

“Queen Samira,” Allura said in a formal tone, “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” She bowed, and the rest of the paladins followed suit.

The Queen was breathtaking, in a way that you couldn’t tell if she was real or not. Her horns, unlike the most of the Kaltor, were long, spiralled, and white in colour. Her skin was a deep blue, and her eyes were piercingly silver. It was unnerving to look into her eyes for too long. Her dress was sleek and flowed past her throne onto the stairs. The longer Lance looked at it, the longer he couldn’t understand it. It seemed to be constantly changing shape and colour, and it was making him slightly dizzy.

“Please,” the Queen replied, “The pleasure is ours. We have heard the tales of Voltron from across the galaxy, and it is an honour to host such brave warriors. Princess Allura, do let your paladins enjoy the festivities. We will discuss the alliance tomorrow.”

They were led to a set of massive doors leading into the ballroom. The paladins began walking in, eager to see what the ball looked like.

“Keith,” Lance called.

Keith turned around, and Lance almost stopped breathing. It was unfair how beautiful Keith was. “What is it Lance?”

Lance could feel the tension in the air, but he ignored it and stepped closer to him. He tentatively reached out a hand, and straightened Keith’s collar. His fingers brushed against Keith’s skin, and he felt Keith jolt at the contact. “Your collar. It was folded.”

Was that a blush on Keith’s cheeks? “Oh… um, thanks.”

“Keith?” Being this close to Keith was driving Lance crazy. Keith was wearing perfume, and it only served to make his scent stronger.

“Yeah?”

“You look really pretty.”

Keith paused for a beat, hesitating on his next sentence. “You look prettier.”

Lance didn’t know how to respond to that. He had expected Keith to slough him off, tell him that he was being a douche. But instead… Lance reached up hesitantly, slowly, allowing time for Keith to step away, but he didn’t, so Lance tucked a loose strand of his hair behind his ear, and this time when he brought his hand down, he let it brush against Keith’s scent gland. 

Keith let out a small gasp that Lance could only hear because he was standing so close. “We should head inside.” And then he was gone, like a figment of Lance’s imagination.

Stars, what was he doing? Keith was… untouchable. So out of Lance’s league, but so so irresistible. He was maybe the prettiest boy that Lance had ever known. He tried think about the Keith that he usually saw: dangerous, and aloof, and brash. But then there was the Keith who got drunk and played Mario Kart, the Keith who fell asleep in Lance’s arms, the Keith who was hurt and didn’t let anyone see it, and Keith tonight, who looked like he had walked out of one of Lance’s dreams. He felt like he was getting whiplash.

Thinking about all that made his head spin, and he was here to have a good time tonight. And a good time he would try to have. The ballroom, true to the rest of the architecture of the palace, had ridiculously high ceilings, and a massive crystal chandelier hung in the middle, casting fractured light on the rest of the room. The entire room felt like standing in ice without the chill, and the people made the atmosphere anything but chilly. The Kaltor were so bright in their reds, and oranges, and blues. They danced, and ate, and laughed, and despite their larger size, they were not as intimidating as Lance thought they would be. The music playing was lively, and there were twenty or so Kaltor out on the dance floor performing what looked like a traditional dance, complete with the swirling of the long sleeves of their gowns and suits.

A while later Lance moved to go to talk to Hunk, who he spotted standing by one of the food tables. He turned around when he saw Lance approaching. 

“Lance! My man! Have you seen the food here? You gotta try it.” He offered Lance some sort of blue spherical food.

“As convincing as that is, I’d rather not. Don’t you remember what happened last time I ate alien food? Not good Hunk. Not good.”

“Suit yourself,” Hunk shrugged, popping the sphere into his mouth. He glanced at Lance sideways. “So. Keith looks good tonight.”

Lance let out a long groan. “Hunk. How can you say he looks _good_ tonight. He looks jaw dropping. Gorgeous. Stunning. Like who decided that one person could be that attractive? It’s like he stepped right out of one of my hot calendars, except like, the calendar would be only him, he’s that attractive.”

Hunk laughed. “Well, if it’s any consolation, he turned redder than the magma on Uloka when he saw you. Pretty sure it’s mutual.”

“Well, he completely ditched me, so clearly he doesn’t think I’m that attractive. Where did he go anyway? I haven’t seen him since we got in.”

Hunk scratched the back of his neck. “Oh um, the last time I saw him he was with one of the locals, chatting.”

“Chatting? Since when does Keith chat?”  
“Well, the local was very… friendly. Actually, I’ve kind of listened on some of the conversations around here. It seems the locals are very interested in Keith. You’d think he’s some sort of prince of something, the way they’re talking about him.”

Lance sputtered, “What kind of? Ugh, I’ll have to go find him now. Can’t have him stealing my spotlight.”

“Sure Lance.”

“What does that- you know what, whatever. Thanks for the help buddy, have fun trying out the food. I’ll catch you later alright? Can’t leave my best bud hanging.”

Hunk nodded, already moving on to look at the other tables and striking up a conversation with one of the Kaltor who had approached him. Ridiculous, Lance thought. Keith, some sort of Prince. Sure, he looked pretty enough to be royalty, and he had that sort of cold aloofness that royalty sometimes had, but there was no reason for the Kaltor to be fawning over him. It was like the Garrison all over again. If only Lance had a dollar for every person that crushed on Keith only to have their hopes crushed. But Lance wasn’t like them. Maybe he had an embarrassingly large crush on Keith, but he refused to let himself get hurt by it by expecting Keith to reciprocate. There was no way Keith returned his feelings. His mind flashed back to Keith’s soft expression when Lance had touched him earlier. Was it possible that Keith… ? No. He probably shouldn’t have even touched him. Besides, there was so clearly a bunch of things that Keith had to sort out about himself, and he probably didn’t have time for someone like Lance.

Still, that didn’t stop Lance from following the sound of Keith’s voice through the ballroom. When he spotted Keith at the edge of the room, he started moving towards him until he realized that Keith wasn’t alone. He was talking to one of the locals, six feet tall like the other Kaltor, with beautiful purple skin and matching eyes. By the way he was dressed, Lance guessed he was of high ranking. Stars above, this local was handsome. No wonder Keith was breaking his usual no being friendly to strangers attitude for this guy. Lance watched as the guy said something, and Keith threw his head back and laughed, touching his hand lightly to the guy’s shoulder. A possessive streak flared up in Lance and the next thing he knew, he was by Keith’s side. _Mine_ he thought. He stood next to Keith, something defensive and slightly territorial enough in his stance that it made the Kaltor straighten uncomfortably. 

“Hi, my name’s Lance. I see you’ve already met Keith,” he could barely keep the growl out of his voice.

“Ah, the blue paladin,” the man said stiffly, “an honour.”

“Nice to meet you as well,” Lance said in a tone that was definitely not very nice.

The man looked between Lance and Keith, understanding dawning on his face. “My apologies. I didn’t realize that Keith had a mate.”

Lance watched Keith’s eyes go wide. “He’s not-”

“No worries red paladin,” the man said, “I hope you enjoy the rest of your night. But… do please message me, if you ever want.”

And then he was gone in a swirl of robes. Keith spun on Lance, “What the hell Lance. I was talking to him!”

“Yeah, quite a friendly talk you had there.” 

“Oh, like you’re one to talk. How many aliens have you flirted with?!”

Lance was about to respond when suddenly the lively music that was playing earlier switched to a slow melodious waltz, and Lance was left staring awkwardly at Keith. He looked at Keith, who was just yelling at him, but who he so badly wanted to be his. And the lighting made Keith look so soft, and so beautiful, and Lance couldn’t care if Keith was mad at him. All he could do was try to fix it. “Keith,” he said hesitantly. And the he held out his hand in an invitation. “Dance with me?” He looked down at his unsure hand, and softly added, “Please?”

Keith looked at Lance’s outstretched hand and placed his own into it, staring at the ground. “Okay.”

Lance tried to act calm as he led Keith out to the dance floor, but his heart was beating out of his chest and Keith’s hand felt so soft in his, and so _right_. He felt like he was sixteen again, picking up a girl to go to the movies. But this was a hundred times better, because it was _Keith_. 

Tentatively, Lance moved his arms to wrap around Keith’s waist, and Keith’s hands reached up to clasp at the back of his neck. Lance felt like he could faint. He found that they fell into an easy rhythm. Fighting was so different from the elegance of dancing, and yet it was the exact same. He knew Keith’s movements almost as well as he knew his own; had studied them so that he could try to beat him and sparring, and so that they could fight together in sync in a battle. And that’s what it felt like here: perfectly in sync. Lance spun Keith out and brought him back in close to his chest, and when the move was done, Keith stayed there, his front pressed to Lance in an embrace. Lance wanted to explode. He was bursting with happiness. Keith was close to him. Keith said yes to dancing. Keith was pressed up against him and sighing like he was completely content. 

“I’m sorry,” Lance murmured, “About earlier. I shouldn’t have done that, it’s your right to talk to anyone you want.”

“Yeah, it is. But… I didn’t mind it as much as I should have?”

“What do you mean?”  
“I didn’t mind you going you know… all alpha on me.”

“Really? I mean you’re an alpha, so it must be kind of weird.”

Keith paused. “Right. It’s okay, just… dance with me?”

And Keith looked up at him with those beautiful violet eyes, and this, Lance could do. Keith was surprisingly good at dancing, which, the more Lance thought about it, was actually not that surprising. Keith was in tune with his body, had to be when he fought, and he also happened to be good at nearly everything, apparently. So Lance pressed Keith closer to him, resisting the strong urge to scent him. They spun around in a swirl of colour, letting the music wash over them and lull them into a sweet, hazy dance. And if he pressed his mouth to Keith’s head in a shadow of a kiss, then Keith never had to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More pining Klance! They're both oblivious, okay? I hope you liked this chapter, I had a lot of fun writing it. Possessive Lance is kind of my weakness. Also, I'm sorry for not giving Hunk more of his own plot :( It'll come later, promise. Until next time... How long until Lance discovers Keith's not an Alpha? Will they ever talk about Keith's past?

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first multi chaptered fic I've done I hope it goes well! Thank you so much for reading :)


End file.
